PASADENA, Calif. – Barry Alvarez, Ron Dayne and Keyshawn Johnson have been nominated as finalists for the Rose Bowl Game All-Century Class as representatives from the 1990’s. The candidates, as voted by an esteemed panel from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), are the ninth of a series of names that will be unveiled each Sunday throughout the remainder of the college football regular season.

In commemoration of the 100th Rose Bowl Game, the All-Century Class will highlight and honor great players and coaches throughout the history of The Granddaddy of Them All.

Current Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez began his career with the Badgers as head football coach in 1990 and spent 16 seasons building a nationally well-respected program before retiring in 2005 to his current post. As the winningest coach in Wisconsin football history and only Big Ten coach to win Rose Bowl Games in back to back years, (1999, 2000), he joins Ohio State’s Woody Hayes as the only Big Ten coach with at least three Rose Bowl Game wins. He finished his career with 118 coaching victories, a Wisconsin record, an 8-4 mark in 12 career bowl games, the 1993 national coach of the year and two Big Ten coach of the year awards. Alvarez returned to the coaching ranks for his fourth appearance in Pasadena for the 2013 Rose Bowl Game. He was a 2009 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductee and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Ron Dayne started four years at running back for the University of Wisconsin. During his career, he set the NCAA Division I-A rushing record for total yards gaining 1,863 yards as a freshman, 1,421 as a sophomore, 1,325 as a junior and 1,834 as a senior. Dayne led the Badgers to bowl games each season with his most impressive performances coming in the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl Game victories where he rushed for 246 yards and 200 yards, respectively. Garnering Player of the Game honors in both appearances, he became the third player in the history of the Rose Bowl Game to win the award more than once — and the first Big Ten player; a record still held today. Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 along with numerous accolades, including Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American honors. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2011 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

In USC’s 41-32 shootout win against Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl Game, Keyshawn Johnson was named Player of the Game after pulling in 12 passes for 216 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown sprint. The 216 receiving yards is a Rose Bowl Game record that still stands and the 12 receptions is the second-highest single-game total in Rose Bowl Game history. This performance came against a Northwestern team that led the nation in scoring defense entering the game. Johnson is a two-time All-American and was the No. 1 pick in the 1996 NFL Draft for the New York Jets. He was a member of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl XXXVII Championship team and is a three-time Pro Bowler (1998, 1999 and 2001). Johnson currently works for ESPN as an NFL analyst. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2008.

The FWAA voting committee will select one Rose Bowl Game representative from each decade to comprise the All-Century Class. In addition, one overall player and one overall coach will be highlighted at a press conference on Selection Sunday, which will take place on December 8, 2013, in Pasadena.